
interface in DSpace for browsing digital content is very primitive and clearly cannot
satisfy user needs. More importantly, the original DSpace system lacks an interface for
exhibiting various digital objects, such as images, video, audio, and animation.
Moreover, collecting content for DLs is the most important and difficult step in
developing rich digital content. Recently, Web 2.0 technologies have enable the
contribution of user-generated content to DLs and developing new applications with
Web 2.0 technologies in a library setting is becoming an important research issue.
Curran et al. (2007) noted that user-generated content, as opposed to content posted
solely by site author(s), and treating users as co-developers of a site are features of Web
2.0 websites. Wikipedia is the most well-known site for user-generated content.
Wikipedia, the largest multilingual free encyclopedia on the Internet, allows any user
to add content, and all content can be edited by any other user. The principles of Web
2.0 that are applicable to DLs are interactivity and the possibility for users to
contribute content. Many studies have indicated that users can create additional
information to digitalized objects in DLs. In developing Web 2.0 technologies to DLs,
the Oregon State University libraries integrated Reference Desk Manager (RDM) with a
Wiki to enhance their reference services (Frumkin, 2005). Based on a literature survey,
Web 2.0 services that help users create strong relationships between users and a
library are urgently needed.
At present, Wiki, blogs, social tagging, Really Simple Syndication (RSS), social
networks, and annotations are the main Web 2.0 technologies that have high
potential for application to DLs. In particular, few studies have applied annotation
technology to print libraries or DLs. Readers typically annotate printed books as a
routine part of their engagement with materials. Marshall (1997) proved that
annotations in books are useful to subsequent readers. Traditionally, annotating
printed books by pen is the most common method of recording book knowledge, but
is disadvantageous to knowledge storage in computers, knowledge dissemination,
and knowledge sharing via the Internet. In contrast, annotating digital documents
via an annotation tool can overcome these shortcomings. Petri et al. (2005)
categorized annotation systems as document-centered and discussion-centered
systems. Discussion-centered systems provide tools for browsing and annotating
discussions, while document-centered systems allow learners to browse and
annotate web-based documents. Frumkin (2005) indicated that if users could leave
comments or annotations on a finding aid – providing additional information
related to materials – this practice would open the door to sharing research
experience, facilitate collaborative research, and make it easy for future researchers
to find materials they need in a particular collection. Additionally, many studies
(Ovsiannikov et al., 1999; Petri et al., 2005; Rau et al., 2004; Hwang et al., 2007)
demonstrated that applying annotation tools to aid learning promotes learning
performance. Constructing rich digital content and users leaving knowledge in DLs
via annotations are important research issues.
This work presents a novel Web 2.0-based reader knowledge archiving and sharing
tool. By using this tool, readers can conveniently add annotations to archived digital
materials in Taiwan library history DL (http://tlh.lias.nccu.edu.tw). The functionalities
of the proposed annotation tool allow readers to add explanations, synonyms,
comments, and hyperlinks for marked target areas, and underline paragraphs as
important sections as well as rate annotations from other users. With the proposed
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